Local Hall of Fame Coach Johnny Carter will celebrate the release of his second book The Pressing Champions with a signing on Tuesday evening at Texas Burger on Main Street from 4 to 7 p.m.

Coach Carter’s first book was released in 2013 and told the true story of his inaugural season in coaching, which turned out to be an early taste of the remarkable career he had ahead of him on the sideline. The book is titled The First Season: The Story of How a Rookie Coach Took a Newly Integrated Team to a Texas State Championship.

Carter was born and raised in Madisonville and graduated from MHS in 1961 after an impressive career on the basketball court for the Mustangs. He attended Lon Morris Junior College on a scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Houston. He would also graduate from Sam Houston State with a master’s degree.

A young Carter took over the basketball coaching duties at Kennard High School in 1967 and became an instant success. In four years, Carter led Kennard to a record of 160-13 and three State Titles (1967, 1968 and 1970).

Carter became an assistant coach at Howard Payne University in Brownwood for three seasons and helped lead his squad to a Lone Star Conference Tri-Championship in 1971 as well as the National AAU Tournament.

He then took over as head coach at McLennan Community College in Waco, where he stayed for seven years. Carter’s teams earned six straight conference titles in this span, the lone exception being his first season when they finished second. They qualified for the National Junior College Tournament in 1976 and Carter was voted Junior College Coach of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.

Carter coached two future NBA players during his time at McLennan: Vinnie (“The Microwave”) Johnson and Sam Worthen. Johnson went on to win two NBA Titles with the Detroit Pistons and Worthen was drafted in the second round by the Chicago Bulls.

Carter spent two seasons as an assistant at the University of Oklahoma and reached the NIT Final Four in 1982 before he came back to Madisonville to coach his hometown Mustangs. He reached the State Tournament 16 times with Madisonville and competed for the State Finals in 1995.

When he is not writing, Carter works part-time for MCISD and is the play-by-play broadcaster for Mustang football and basketball on KMVL.

After a title in his first season in ’67, Carter’s squads quickly became known for his devastating full-court pressure defense. It was an integral part of the success of all his teams throughout his career and earned the title of his second book covering the young coach’s time in Kennard.

To purchase his new book and learn more about the storied career of Coach Johnny Carter, do not forget to stop by Texas Burger on Tuesday between 4 and 7 p.m.